Tēnā koutou, Malo e lelei, Tālofa lava, Bula vinaka, Good afternoon.

My 8 year old daughter was left slightly bewildered last week when she asked me what an encyclopedia was, and in my effort to explain I described it as the way we used to find out information before the internet. This of course was received with a wide-eyed look of disbelief as she came to the realisation that the internet has not always existed. Where once we used to look for answers in books, now we simply Google it. Where once we used to have to go to shops to shop, now we can buy just about anything from the comfort of our homes. Yet, while the internet gives us instant access to information, convenience and the power to operate at scale or spread ideas to anyone, it does not come without a cost.

Biologically, we human beings are social creatures, where connection to others is essential to nearly every aspect of our health and wellbeing. Yet the internet has transformed human connection into an abstract concept, falsely convincing us that we are getting the connections we need when people ‘like’ a photo or post, or when we get another follower. At the same time, the online world continues to unwittingly encourage dehumansation. Sure, an online community such as Facebook gives shy people a chance to be heard but the flip side is that it also allows abhorrent behaviour, where some say things about others that they would probably never say in person. The ability to maintain distance, even complete anonymity, online has sadly made it easier to stop acting as humans should - with humanity.

As someone who does not frequent social media, I was discontented to hear secondhand last week that yet again, a local school was in the spotlight. How sad that in our Waitaki community, where every school is working tirelessly to meet the growing demands placed upon them, where every school has something to offer the young people in our region, where every school is doing the best they can, that individuals look past this and turn to criticism and condemnation online, rather than working with our schools to seek solutions to their concerns. And how disheartening that so many others, often without the facts or context of a situation, jump on the bandwagon, unable to help themselves or look beyond their own perspective, to see the damage that can be caused not only to individual schools, but to our community as a whole, by their sharp, dehumanising remarks.

In a time when schools are stretched to the limits to meet the diverse needs and circumstances of our students, and in a time where human connection is more important than ever, surely we should be uniting together with kindness and empathy, rather than promoting contention and disharmony amongst us. Yes, we are sure to have diverse opinions and to disagree on things - this is a natural part of what it means to be individuals - but perhaps before turning to social media, it would serve us well to pause and consider not only the implications of our free speech on those that it targets, but also what such behaviour teaches our young people, who look to us for guidance and role modelling. Perhaps it would also prove worthwhile to remember that our schools at heart are made up of people - teachers who are dedicating their time both in and out of the classroom, going above and beyond to do all that they can for the good of our young people. Like you, they are doing the best that they can every day. And they are human too.

Elizabeth Koni 

Principal